George Brandis signals government crackdown on online piracy

Attorney-General Senator George Brandis said the fundamental principles of copyright law - protecting creators' and owners' rights - did not change with the advent of the internet. Photo: Andrew Meares

The Abbott government is considering a major crackdown on online piracy, including forcing internet service providers to block websites that allow users to illegally stream or download movies, music and television shows.

The federal government is also considering implementing a "graduated response scheme" that could lead to consumers' internet accounts being temporarily suspended if they ignore notifications to stop downloading illegal content.

If implemented, the reforms could see popular file sharing sites such as The Pirate Bay blocked by some internet service providers.

Attorney-General George Brandis flagged the changes in a major speech to the Australian Digital Alliance forum on Friday.

"The government will be considering possible mechanisms to provide a legal incentive for an internet service provider to cooperate with copyright owners in preventing infringement on their systems and networks," Mr Brandis said.

"This may include looking carefully at the merits of a scheme whereby ISPs are required to issue graduated warnings to consumers who are using websites to facilitate piracy. This is a complex reform proposal, and how it is paid for is one of the principal unresolved issues."

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He continued: "Another option that some stakeholders have raised with me is to provide the Federal Court with explicit powers to provide for third party injunctions against ISPs, which will ultimately require ISPs to take down websites hosting infringing content."

Such measures would be welcomed by entertainment companies and sections of the artistic community, but are likely to prove controversial among internet users and providers.

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Australians are among the most avid users of pirating websites in the world. For example, Australians accounted for 16 per cent of all illegal downloads of television program Breaking Bad.

In his speech Mr Brandis said he stood firmly on the side of content creators in the copyright debate.

"I firmly believe the fundamental principles of copyright law, the protection of rights of creators and owners did not change with the advent of the internet and they will not change with the invention of new technologies."

He described the Copyright Act as "overly long, unnecessarily complex, often comically outdated and all too often, in its administration, pointlessly bureaucratic".